LA Developer Rick Caruso Open to Running for Office Again
One-time mayoral candidate with lots to spend is currently focusing on flipping House seats in California
By Greg Cornfield October 6, 2023 4:10 pm
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Billionaire developer Rick Caruso has been quiet since conceding the Los Angeles mayoral race to Karen Bass last year, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been very busy on the political sidelines.
In an interview with Politico, the real estate mogul explained he’s been working to support Democrats running for swing seats in Congress, and he opened the door to another run for office in the next few years — including a mayoral rematch, and the next race for governor of California.
“I am open to it, but there’s a lot of time and things will unfold. If there is an opportunity that makes sense, I will look at it,” he said.
That’s particularly noteworthy after he previously told the Los Angeles Times and others that he would not run again if he lost in 2022. Representatives for Caruso, his eponymous real estate development company, declined to follow up with Commercial Observer.
According to Politico, Caruso has spent months quietly laying the groundwork for his comeback, including meeting with House of Representative Democrats in L.A. and Washington and donating to their committees, and he plans to do a lot more. He’s mostly aiming at five California House districts that President Joe Biden won but that are now represented in Congress by Republicans.
“Stick with the central theme of getting moderates in the House,” Caruso told POLITICO of his strategy for the next year. “I am not out to support extremists or, frankly, ideologues.”
He said he will be dedicating his money and time to push the most viable Democratic candidates for Congress, as well as supporting U.S. Senate races and Biden’s next presidential run, though he didn’t specify how much he plans to spend. Politico asked Caruso if he’s supporting Biden, to which he said the president was his only option to defend against Republicans.
“There’s no other choice,” he said. “I am going to lean in on all of it.”
Caruso focused his mayoral campaign largely on rising crime in Los Angeles. And, since then, a string of high-profile “flash mob” robberies have hit around the region, which prompted Caruso to make one of his only statements this year prior to the Politico interview.
In speaking to Politico, Caruso contended that conditions on the ground in L.A. related to homelessness and the housing shortage have grown worse under Bass. “The homeless count was up 10 percent. There are areas where crime is continuing to grow. I would love to have someone tell me how many new units have been built.”
Yusef Robb, Bass’s political adviser, disputed Caruso’s comments on the city’s condition, and told Politico that Bass’s programs so far have housed 17,000 people and secured funding for a record number of new police officers.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
